He NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, via an opinion piece published Monday in USA Today, explains the reasons that led him to establish the start of the 2020-21 regular season despite the coronavirus pandemic continuing to rise across the country.
While Silver praised everyone who participated in the successful bubble in Orlando, he explained why repeating a campus-like environment was unfeasible. “Next season requires a new approach. We will certainly face challenges, but like people everywhere we want to work if we can do it safely and responsibly,” he wrote.
Silver was blunt in saying that “the NBA is no different than many other organizations trying to fight their way through the pandemic by balancing several factors, including the potential for significant financial hardship. “
Sports industry
The commissioner of the NBA recalled that his organization is part of a professional sports industry in the United States on which 1.3 million jobs depend.“Tens of thousands of people depend on our league and related businesses for their livelihoods,” Silver stressed.
The NBA commissioner too He noted that the organization he leads provides a helpful service to people who may be struggling during these difficult times. Silver also sought to assure the public that the league’s health and safety protocols will allow the season to run without bubbles.
“We recognize that there are some people who believe that we should wait to return until the pandemic is squashed., but we think that overall the right approach is to start our season now … “admitted Siver.” In the same way that we prepare for our bubble, we have designed comprehensive health and safety protocols for the start of the season, “he added.
Working together
Silver reiterated that have worked with those responsible for public health, the players’ union and of the teams that have made possible the return of the competition to the fields of each franchise.
“Many of the main protocols that we rely on in Florida (daily tests, physical distancing, use of masks and frequent hand washing) continue to guide our efforts and everyone’s health and safety remains our top priority, “said Silver.
Silver also noted that the decision of the Milwaukee Bucks star, power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, to sign a supermax extension it was of “enormous” value to the league.
The commissioner analyzed that Giannis’s contract, a five-year, $ 228 million extension, reflected that the collective bargaining agreement it’s working as designed for the Bucks and the rest of the other 29 NBA teams.
The agreement encourages you to stay
As Silver pointed out, the convention current incentives for players to stay in the market that selected them. That’s why guys like Antetokounmpo and French center Rudy Gobert were willing to sign extensions with their current teams, the Utah Bucks and Jazz, than they would have done in the free-agent market.
Silver also credited the Bucks franchise for his efforts to surround him with a roster that would allow him to fight for a league title. and at the same time he qualified Antetokounmpo as a national superstar and especially in the community. Milwaukee has typically been a small market team. But the Bucks have been aggressive in recent years.
In fact, Milwaukee has now signed players to maximum deals in consecutive offseason stints, with Antetokounmo’s supermax following the maximum contract signed by power forward Khris Middleton last summer.
